Stamford schools have budget surplus again

Positions held open, lower insurance claims leaves money unspent

Published 10:05 pm, Monday, February 10, 2014

STAMFORD -- The Board of Education is scheduled to vote on a $252 million budget tonight, Tuesday, after learning this weekend it is sitting on a $1.7 million surplus so far this year.

The vote scheduled for a special meeting at the Government Center beginning at 7 p.m. will send the board's budget to the city's boards of Representatives and Finance, which can trim it.

"The board will take up the budget again -- after the other boards have approved the BOE budget," Geoff Alswanger, school board president, said via email Monday. "At that time, the board may choose to re-allocate items and there will certainly be time for the public to give input before that occurs."

Besides the budget, the Board of Education will also vote on the calendar for next year. There is no public comment scheduled, but a public hearing was held last week.

The budget as presented would add nearly 60 positions to handle increased enrollment, provide more mental health services, music and art in the schools and provide for the expansion of magnet programs to fifth-graders at Scofield and Rippowam middle schools.

While the $252 million proposed budget is nearly 3 percent higher than the current budget, not all that money might be spent and, in fact, the board is on track to have a budget surplus for the second year in a row.

According to the district's most recent financial statements, Stamford's schools are on pace to finish this year with a $1.7 million surplus after some positions were left open and insurance claims were lower than expected.

That comes after last year's surplus of more than $4 million, which was plugged back into the district's capital costs and pension and benefits obligations.

The analysis of the current expenditures shows that major medical claims among Stamford workers are way down for the second year in a row.

However, it's not all good news on the insurance front as workers compensation claims have jumped, largely due to custodians injuring themselves putting away old cafeteria tables, according to the district. Those tables are going to be replaced, which also adds costs.

On the staffing front, the schools have saved some money by not filling positions, including the chief technology officer job that would likely cost six figures to fill. And the district has also seen an increase in spending on temporary and part-time labor.

Substitute salaries and part-time professional expenditures are up more than 34 percent to $828,524 for the first four months of this year compared to the first four of last year, when the district spent $615,647 on substitutes.

Spending on part-time employees for administrative work has gone up 23 percent to $788,313 compared to the same period of time in the prior year.

While private sector companies have turned increasingly to part time and contract labor to avoid some of the medical and other benefits costs associated with a full-time employee, Superintendent Winifred Hamilton said that's not something the school district is doing.

"We don't intend to do that," Hamilton said by phone Monday. She said the budget last year called for eight additional para educators, but the district has not filled those positions because the need hasn't been there.

She said the para educators provide services to some of the neediest students, but the school district has found as students move up in grades, there is less need for one-on-one services.

In prior years, the district underbudgeted staff and had to go out and hire 10 or 12, she said, so now the district budgets for the positions, but only fills them as needed.

She said the district will continue to monitor the staffing levels going forward.

Energy was also a place of large savings for the district, but that was largely due to a debt retirement, though electricity and heating fuel usage was also down through December. It's unclear how the cold January and February months will affect the overall budget for energy usage.